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Growg-Tbacco-art
- 8/30/17
"On the Cultivation of
Tobacco: A Research Report" by Lady Elinor Strangewayes, OM. An A&S
project.
NOTE: See also the files:
smoking-msg, Uroscopy-art, M-Aphrodisiacs-art, hemp-msg, hemp-nettle-art,
p-herbals-msg, incense-msg, G-of-Paradse-msg.
************************************************************************
NOTICE -
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with the permission of the author.
These files are available on the
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Copyright to the contents of
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While the author will likely
give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please
check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of
this file.
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li
Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
************************************************************************
On the Cultivation of Tobacco:
A Research Report
by Lady Elinor Strangewayes, OM.
Shire of Mountain Freehold
Overview: This paper is the result of a
four-month experiment in tobacco cultivation and processing, following the
advice laid down in several late period English guidebooks and tracts on
tobacco.
On Christopher Columbus’ first expedition, he
encountered native peoples who offered "fruit, wooden spears, and certain
dried leaves which gave off a distinct fragrance."[1]
The Europeans ate the fruit, admired the spears, and accepted the plants for
politeness’ sake as the natives seemed to value them highly. Once the natives
were out of sight, Columbus threw the leaves away. Despite this poor beginning,
these same dried leaves would eventually be just as valuable in Spain as they
had been in the Caribbean. The plant, of course, was tobacco, and its
cultivation and use would spark passionate debate, national conflict, and
dreams of profit. Numerous manuals were published to offer advice on everything
from its cultivation to its association with sin. This paper is the result of
an attempt to grow tobacco following the advice of the sixteenth and early
seventeenth century guidebooks.
Tobacco was a highly controversial subject to
the societies of the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Supporters claimed it would cure everything from melancholy to sexually
transmitted diseases, while detractors railed against it as the Devil’s
creation and a threat to civilization. Its cultivation proved to be the savior
of many fledgling New World colonies that had found the promises of easy gold
to be false. By 1615, Caribbean tobacco was being sold for 10 times the price
of pepper, and the best of it was valued pound for pound with silver.[2]
At the same time, some concerned authors worried that it was killing the
nation’s youth (one physician wrote that he wished "it were as well knowen
by the name of Youths-bane, as by the name of Tabacco").[3]
More pragmatic voices expressed concern that "the Treasure of this land
[was being] vented for smoke" as the Spanish colonies no longer accepted
goods in trade for tobacco, only silver, gold, and silks.[4]
While tobacco was initially collected by
Iberian explorers who extorted it from the native peoples they encountered, by
the second quarter of the 16th century it was easier to grow it on
organized tobacco plantations established under colonial supervision. Demand
for the herb increased as its use spread beyond the Iberian Peninsula and
Spanish holdings in the Caribbean. English sailors working in the Caribbean in
the 1560s picked up the habit, and tobacco use among the English was a
predominantly maritime trait until it went mainstream via the Virginian
colonists. William Camden, an early scholar and historian, was present at
Plymouth (England) in July of 1586 when a boatload of returning Virginians
publicly disembarked with their pipes and smoking pouches. Camden later noted
that "these men which were brought backe were the first that I know of,
which brought into England that Indian plant which they call Tabacca, and
Nicotia."[5] Its use spread rapidly among the fashionable
with Sir Francis Drake introducing Sir Walter Raleigh to the habit in 1585, and
Queen Elizabeth herself eventually tried it.
With tobacco’s
popularity on the rise, people in the New World began sending seed home in
hopes of establishing this cash crop on their own side of the Atlantic without
the expense and danger of several months’ sea voyage. Small-scale importation
of seed had been occurring throughout the early and mid 1500s, but the second
half of the 16th century saw an explosion in botanical interest.
Spanish doctor Nicholas Monardes
noted that herbalists were growing tobacco all over Spain when he wrote De Hierba Panacea in 1571. Books such as Anthony Chute’s 1595 work Tabacco
and the anonymous New and short defense of tabacco of 1602 offered
advice to the public on the subjects of tobacco’s cultivation and medicinal
properties.
In light of those
and similar works, I decided to cultivate a little tobacco myself, following
the gardening advice of these authors. I obtained some Nicotiana rustica
seed from Plimoth Plantation in the winter of 2007-2008. Later research
revealed that this is a variety generally held to be non-smokable, though it’s
worth pointing out that I am not the first to make the mistake – it was not
until 1530 that Mexican missionary Bernardino de Sahagun distinguished between Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana
rustica.[6]
(N. tabacum is the variety commonly
used commercially for smoking purposes; N.
rustica is harsh and most often employed by gardeners to keep bugs away.)
Period authors
suggest that tobacco requires "the hottest and most fertill ground" that can be found, preferably
"where the sunne shineth most, and if it be possible against some wall
which may defend it from the North winde, which is an infinite enemy to this
hearbe."[7] It should be
sown a dozen seeds to a hole, three inches deep.[8]
This seems like a lot of seed, but they are tiny and delicate. Author "C.
T." of the 1615 Advice How to Plant
Tobacco takes a different approach. His book says the seed can be simply
strewn on the surface of the soil at nearly any time of year, the only concern
being that if the seeds are too deeply covered with soil and planted too late
in the spring, they will not come up in time to ripen before frost.[9]
Regarding the best
time of year for planting, Anthony Chute writes that it is best to plant it in March in England, though
other authors have recommended April.[10]
Personally, I live in a climate much colder than England, and my house is not
entirely heated. (I cannot grow houseplants in the winter, for the house
routinely falls below freezing inside.) Therefore, I had to wait until
mid-April before it was warm enough to plant my seeds.
I obtained a set
of biodegradable potting cups for my seed, as all the authors agreed that this
is a plant that is started in one location and set out in another to mature. I planted about 12-18 seeds and ended up with
6 plants. C. T. recommends that "After
your seedes are growne up to a stalke of three inches high, you must take them up
and replant them, leaving two foot betweene each plant of the lesser kind, and
three foote between each of the greater."[11]
The seedlings’ height is carefully calculated - if they are left to grow too
tall before transplant they will be damaged in the repotting and take too long
to recover.
My seedlings were about that height when I
removed them to their final location. In late May, I dug a garden on Star
Island, the largest of the New Hampshire-owned islands in the Isles of Shoals
off the coast near Portsmouth NH. (I live and work there during the summer.)
Anthony Chute recommends that the seedlings should be replanted "neer some
wal, within two or three foot, but if the ground be not good there, (as
commonly it may happen) then prepare with apte manuring it."[12]
I dug a raised bed garden in a sheltered space behind the cottage where I
worked. At home in Vermont, we own horses, so I was able to bring out multiple
5-gallon pails of composted manure to supplement the island soil. My plants
never reached the nine or ten feet tall that Chute claimed some would, but even
Chute admitted that such height would be exceptionally lucky.[13]
This may have had something to do with my haphazard watering schedule – though
C. T.’s book ordered gardeners to "take care to water your plants once a
day: in the morning, if the Spring be cold; in the evening if it bee warme,"
I watered mine 5-7 times a week whenever my work schedule allowed.[14]
The tobacco grew merrily all summer. When it
was about a foot tall, it began budding and sending off side-shoots, which I
clipped every day in accordance with the rules laid down in An Advice
How to Plant Tobacco.[15]
The end result should be 8-10 leaves upon one central stalk. The author of the Advice warned greedy gardeners to follow
this rule strictly, for if the side shoots were left to grow out of a desire
for more leaves, the tobacco would
be "weake and worth nothing."[16]
I did allow one plant to go to seed on a side-shoot because I wanted seed for
next year. Given that I was using an inferior variety of tobacco to start with,
I doubt it hurt my quality too much.
As the end of summer approached, the tobacco
began ripening. The ripe leaves could be identified by being "full of
yellow spottes, which you shal best discerne if you hold a leafe between you
and the light.[17] Harvesting
the leaves was a fairly simple matter, though staggered over the course of a
week as they did not ripen at once. I picked the ripe leaves in the last week
of August. The author of the Advice How
to Plant Tobacco suggested that the leaves should be laid to wilt for a few
hours and then hung on a string to dry, or laid on a clean boarded floor until
they become yellowish.[18]
Anthony Chute’s 1595 book reports that the "Indians of Trinidade" lay
tobacco "in the shadow," "where no wind or sunne come to draw
out the power or vertue in exhalations."[19]
For two days my leaves withered upstairs in my (very hot and unventilated)
attic before being strung. It was a common practice for untrustworthy tobacco
merchants to dye their products at this point or dip them in various solutions
to make poor quality tobacco appear better grade.
This is a subject that appears frequently in
tobacco literature – anti-tobacco tracts warn of the foul ingredients used in
its manufacture. Philaretes, who wrote Work
for Chimnysweepers in 1602, boldly asserted on his title page that it was "better
[to] be chokt with English hemp, than poisoned with Indian Tabacco."[20]
Even tobacco supporters feared that foreign tobacco was often deliberately
contaminated by "Spanish slaves [who] make it up, how they dresse their
sores, and pockie ulcers, with the same unwasht hands with which they slubber
and annoynt the Tobacco, and call it sauce Per
los perros Luteranos, for Lutheran
dogges."[21] I did not
treat my tobacco in any way, though one alleged Spanish recipe sounded like it
would possibly improve my batch: "a kinde of juyce, or syrope, made of
Saltwater, of the dregges or filth of sugar, called Malasses, of black honey, Guiana pepper, and leeze [dregs] of Wine."[22]
Another called for "blacke spice, galanga,
aqua vitae, Spanish wine, Anise seeds, oyle of Spicke [possibly oil of
spike, made from lavender] and such like."[23]
The leaves at this point of the process were a tawny golden brown, the natural
ideal according to several of the authors.
After drying some, the tobacco leaves are
then left to ferment "in heapes, in a heat somewhat stronger than a
hot-house."[24] I put my
leaves into ziplock bags, as I did not have enough leaves to create the heavy,
moist piles necessary to make them "sweat." The leaves then undergo a
sort of fermentation for an unspecified period of time. Apparently this is
something that both C. T. and Anthony Chute assumed that the reader would
already know. The only hint is a reference from C. T. advising tobacco
connoisseurs to seek out the "deep yellow, or slight tawny, which colours
are naturall, and forbeare the blacke which is foule, the dyed Tobacco, which
is red, and the leafe brought in by the Portugalles, and the like slubbered
stuffe."[25] I put mine
in sealed plastic bags in a hot attic for several weeks and used my best guess
as to temperature and duration. A small amount of foul-smelling fluid appeared
at the bottom of one of the bags after the first week, so I drained it and from
then on left the bags open. That appears to have done the trick, and at the end
of two weeks the leaves were mostly dry and a pretty yellow-green color.
I have tried to smoke this tobacco once or
twice. It was not pleasant. [Nota bene:
I’m not a regular smoker by any means; I own a reproduction clay pipe out of
historical interest and only rarely use it.] The anonymous author of the 1602 New and Short Defense of Tabacco claims
that tobacco "dooth leave behind it, in my mouth (taken by pipe) a certain
sweet fragrant moisture, Referens
mellitum quid, not much unlike the pleasant deaw on oken leaves, in prime
of Maie, whereuppon Hony-bees, at that time, do most commonly and comfortably
feede."[26] Regarding
my tobacco, it did not so much taste like a pleasant dew as something you might
use to kill the aforementioned bees. As previously mentioned, however, I made
the mistake of planting Nicotiana rustica
instead of Nicotiana tobacum. To
judge from the advice books, though, I am not the first to find tobacco
unpleasant to the palate. The same anonymous author above offers the following
advice for smokers: "When you take it by Pipe, mine advice is, that you put into your box of prepared
powder, one grain at the least, of the oile of Anniseedes, it will give your
powder a marvellous grace, and comfortable, both to the smell, and taste, of
the taker, not only pleasant and delectable, but also profitable and
commendable, especially to the daintier sort." [27]
I attempted to grow this tobacco out of
curiosity to see if the advice laid down in contemporary guidebooks would
produce a viable product. The major error, in seed selection, was mine.
Although the major authors differed with each other in detail, their advice was
sound and my adventure in tobacco cultivation mirrored their experiences.
(Except, perhaps, for the production of a marketable product at the end.) I
suspect that if I tried this again with the proper N. tobacum seed, the results would be much better. The
tobacco-related literature offers a fascinating glimpse into Elizabethan
concepts of health, agriculture, and social order. There is much potential for
future research into how tobacco and its related spheres of material culture
and economy fit into the transatlantic world at the dawn of the seventeenth
century.
Bibliography.
Primary Sources.
1. Anonymous. A New and Short Defense of Tabacco.
Printed by Clement Knight: London, 1602.
2. Barclay, William. Nepenthes or The Vertues of Tabacco.
Andro Hart: Edinburgh, 1614.
3. C. T. An Advice how to Plant
Tobacco in England. Printed by Nicholas Okes: London, 1615.
4. Camden, William. Annales Rerum Gestarum Angliae et Hiberniae
Regnante Elizabetha, 1615. Published online by Dana Sutton, March 27, 2000.
[http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/camden/] Accessed Feb 28 2009.
5. Chute, Anthony. Tabacco. Printed by William Barlow:
London, 1595.
6. Columbus, Christopher and de
las Casas, Bartolomé. (Samuel Kettell, translator.) Personal Narrative of the First Voyage of Columbus to America.
Boston: T. B. Wait and Son, 1827. Available online via Google Books. [http://books.google.com/books?id=iaDtUahGNf4C]
Accessed Feb 28, 2009.
7. Duncon, Eleazar. The Copy of a Letter. Melchisedech
Bradwood: London, 1606.
8. James I, King of England. A Counterblaste to Tobacco. Printed by
R. B.: London, 1604.
9. Marbecke, Roger. A Defence of Tabacco, Printed by Richard
Field: London, 1602.
10. Philaretes. Work for Chimnysweepers, Printed by T.
Este: London, 1602.
'Secondary Sources.
1. Borio, Gene. "The
Tobacco Timeline." [http://www.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_History.html] Accessed
Feb 28, 2009.
2. Gilman, Sander L. and Zhou,
Xun. Smoke: A Global History of Smoking.
Reaktion Books, 2004.
3. Harris, Mark (Lord Stefan li
Rous), ed. "Smoking-msg," from the Florilegium. [http://www.florilegium.org/">http://www.florilegium.org/] Accessed Feb 28, 2009.
Appendix: Photos
"When your leaves be towards
ripening, they will bee full of yellow spottes, which you shal best discerne if
you hold a leafe between you and the light."[28]
'Fresh-picked
and partially-dried leaves, with a US quarter for scale.
Endnotes
[1] Journal of Christopher Columbus, 12 October 1492, quoted in Smoke:
A Global History of Smoking by Sander L. Gilman and Xun Zhou. Reaktion Books,
2004. Page 30.
[2] C. T. An Advice how to Plant Tobacco in England. Printed by Nicholas
Okes: London, 1615. Page 3.
[3] Duncon, Eleazar. The Copy of a Letter. Melchisedech Bradwood:
London, 1606. Page 5.
C. T. 13
[4] Camden, William.
Annales Rerum Gestarum Angliae et Hiberniae Regnante Elizabetha, 1615. [5] Published
online by Dana Sutton, March 27, 2000. [
http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/camden/ ] Accessed Feb 28 2009.
[6] Borio, Gene. "The Tobacco Timeline." [http://www.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_History.html
] Accessed Feb 28, 2009.
[7] Chute, Anthony. Tabacco. Printed by William Barlow: London, 1595.
Page 39.
[8] Chute 41
[9] C. T. 5
[10] Chute 42
[11] C. T. 6
[12] Chute 43
[13] Chute 37
[14] C. T. 6
[15] C. T. 6
[16] C. T. 6
[17] C. T. 6
[18] C. T. 6
[19] Chute 6
[20] Philaretes. Work for
Chimnysweepers, Printed by T. Este: London, 1602. Page 1.
[21] C. T. 4
[22] C. T. 3
[23] Barclay, William. Nepenthes or The Vertues of Tabacco.
Andro Hart: Edinburgh, 1614. Page 5.
[24] C. T. 7
[25] C. T. 7
[26] Anonymous. A New and Short Defense of Tabacco.
Printed by Clement Knight: London, 1602. Page 3.
[27] Anonymous. A New and Short Defense of Tabacco, 14.
[28] C. T. 6
------
Copyright 2009 by Sarah O'Connor.
<strangewayes at gmail.com>. Permission is granted for republication in
SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a reasonable
attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication
and if possible receives a copy.
If this article is reprinted in
a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this
article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that
I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.
<the end>
[1] Journal of Christopher Columbus, 12 October 1492, quoted in Smoke: A Global History of Smoking by Sander L. Gilman and Xun Zhou. Reaktion Books, 2004. Page 30.
[2] C. T. An Advice how to Plant Tobacco in England. Printed by Nicholas Okes: London, 1615. Page 3.
[3] Duncon, Eleazar. The Copy of a Letter. Melchisedech Bradwood: London, 1606. Page 5.
[4] C. T. 13
[5] Camden, William. Annales Rerum Gestarum Angliae et Hiberniae Regnante Elizabetha, 1615. Published online by Dana Sutton, March 27, 2000. [ http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/camden/">http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/camden/ ] Accessed Feb 28 2009.
[6] Borio, Gene. "The Tobacco Timeline." [ http://www.tobacco.org/History/Tobacco_History.html ] Accessed Feb 28, 2009.
[7] Chute, Anthony. Tabacco. Printed by William Barlow: London, 1595. Page 39.
[8] Chute 41
[9] C. T. 5
[10] Chute 42
[11] C. T. 6
[12] Chute 43
[13] Chute 37
[14] C. T. 6
[15] C. T. 6
[16] C. T. 6
[17] C. T. 6
[18] C. T. 6
[19] Chute 6
[20] Philaretes. Work for Chimnysweepers, Printed by T. Este: London, 1602. Page 1.
[21] C. T. 4
[22] C. T. 3
[23] Barclay, William. Nepenthes or The Vertues of Tabacco. Andro Hart: Edinburgh, 1614. Page 5.
[24] C. T. 7
[25] C. T. 7
[26] Anonymous. A New and Short Defense of Tabacco. Printed by Clement Knight: London, 1602. Page 3.
[27] Anonymous. A New and Short Defense of Tabacco, 14.
[28] C. T. 6